A serious Congress would address veterans care

If Congress is serious about addressing the VA problem, it should seriously consider radically changing the way veterans receive health care.

Every veteran is eligible for a Department of Veterans Affairs medical-benefits card. Veterans should be allowed to use this card to receive health care similar to that provided under Medicare.

Those with service-connected disabilities would not be required to buy supplemental insurance, pay for medication or preventive services, or make co-payments. Veterans would be allowed to choose whether they wanted to receive services in a VA hospital or in their community.

Think for a minute about the impact of such a change. I suspect we will find that most veterans, myself included, would choose to receive services like other Americans.